Nakhon Phanom, Royal Thai Air Base, June 1971. On the occasion of my “fini” flight (my seventy-third and last flying mission) over Laos and Cambodia in an EC-47. I would rotate back to the States the next day.
Fort Meade, Maryland, circa early 1973. The promotion list for major had just come out and I was promoted to the rank a year early. From left to right are NSA director Lieutenant General Sam Phillips, Sue, and yours truly.
Seoul, June 1987. An honor guard ceremony in Korea on the occasion of my departure. To my left is General Bill Livsey, commander US Forces Korea, and to his left, Brigadier General Charlie Bishop, who replaced me as director of intelligence for USFK.
Offut Air Force Base, Nebraska, March 1989. Celebrating the occasion of my thirty-seventh and last “Looking Glass” mission—the airborne command post for the Strategic Air Command. I was the deputy chief of staff/intelligence for SAC at the time.
Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, DC, circa January 1992. Bob Gates, in his role as director of central intelligence, visits Defense Intelligence Agency headquarters, where I was director.
Bolling Air Force Base, September 1, 1995. With Sue right after my retirement ceremony. After thirty-two years, my career in the Air Force was over. Right after this we got our retirement ID cards.
Wreckage of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia after a bombing on June 25, 1996, killed nineteen American airmen.
September 11, 2001. Smoke rises from the southwest side of the Pentagon after the worst terrorist attack in our nation’s history. The ensuing war on terror became the driving force behind our push for intelligence integration, and I would be sworn in as director of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency three days later.
May 31, 2004. President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld at Arlington National Cemetery.
February 5, 2003. Secretary of State Colin Powell addresses the United Nations Security Council, citing “irrefutable and undeniable” evidence that the government of Saddam Hussein continued to conceal Iraq’s WMD program. CIA director George Tenet is seated behind him on the left.
Tallil Air Base, Iraq, June 2003. The use of unmanned aerial vehicles like the Predator pictured here provided unprecedented real-time persistent imagery intelligence, which revolutionized warfighting.
After footage of a 2007 airstrike in Baghdad was leaked to the website WikiLeaks, Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning was detained and later tried for violations of the Espionage Act. President Obama commuted Manning’s sentence in January 2017.
April 2007. Secretary of Defense Bob Gates administers the oath of office as undersecretary of defense for intelligence to me in a hastily arranged ceremony after my confirmation.
June 5, 2010. Just before President Obama’s rollout of my nomination as the fourth director of national intelligence in the Rose Garden. Pictured from left to right are me; Sue; my grandson Ryan; my son-in-law, Jay; my daughter, Jennifer; my granddaughter, Erin; and President Obama.
My deputy director of national intelligence for intelligence integration, and later director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Robert Cardillo.
My principal deputy director of national intelligence, Stephanie O’Sullivan.
September 9, 2010. A President’s Daily Brief in the Oval Office. Clockwise starting from far left are Robert Cardillo, Tom Donilon, Rodney S., John Brennan, James Jones, me, and President Obama.
September 13, 2011. With David Petraeus, testifying on “The State of Intelligence Reform 10 Years After 9/11” in front of a crowd of protesters at a joint hearing of the House and Senate select committees on intelligence.
February 1, 2011. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano conferring on human trafficking as I look on.
May 1, 2011. The now-iconic picture of President Obama’s national security team tracking the progress of the mission to apprehend Osama bin Laden.
The compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where Osama bin Laden was killed by US Special Forces in a daring strike.
Watching President Obama deliver a statement on the bin Laden mission in the East Room alongside Tom Donilon, Leon Panetta, Mike Mullen, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden.
September 11, 2012. This image was taken inside the US consulate in Benghazi on the night of the attack that took the lives of four Americans.
Ambassador Christopher Stevens delivering a speech in Tripoli in late August 2012.
October 22, 2015. Hillary Clinton testifies before the House Select Committee on Benghazi in what was to become a marathon eleven-hour hearing.
March 12, 2013. With FBI director Robert Mueller, presenting the worldwide threat assessment before the Senate Intelligence Committee. My exchange with Senator Ron Wyden during this briefing would later be the source of much controversy.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in London, where he has helped to coordinate the ongoing leaking of government, corporate, and personal secrets from the Ecuadorian embassy.
Edward Snowden pictured during an interview in Hong Kong in summer 2013.
August 2014. The crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 near Donetsk, Ukraine. The entire chain of events leading to the Russians’ firing on the plane was reminiscent of the 1983 Soviet attack on Korean Air Lines Flight 007.
North Korea, November 8, 2014. This photo was taken on the grounds of the state guesthouse in Pyongyang. Pictured with me are my executive assistant, Neil K., and Allison Hooker from the National Security Council staff.
An exterior shot of the state guesthouse in Pyongyang.
February 2015. Testifying to the Senate Armed Services Committee with Lieutenant General Vincent Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and pretending not to see the camera in my face.
Sharing a word with Michael Flynn during a hearing of the House Intelligence Committee. CIA director John Brennan is at left.
April 24, 2015. President Obama addresses the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on the tenth anniversary of its founding and uses the opportunity to return all the paperclips I’ve left in his office over the years.
August 2, 2016. With Sue in the receiving line before a state dinner for the prime minister of Singapore.
May 2017. With Sally Yates, testifying before a subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee. After the 2016 election, she had warned the White House about contacts between former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Russia that might make him vulnerable to blackmail.
In the wake of Russia’s unprecedented campaign of active measures to influence the 2016 presidential election, I felt it was my duty to speak out in media appearances like this one about the threat the Russians and their enablers continue to pose to American democracy.
December, 2016. One final Clapper family gathering in the Oval. From left to right are my oldest grandson, Ryan; me; President Obama; my son, Andy; my grandson Colin; my daughter-in-law, Kim; and my grandson Mac.
Acknowledgments
I have many people to thank, starting with many friends and colleagues who urged me to write a book, though I think the greatest credit goes to my collaborator and friend Trey Brown. Trey served with great distinction as my speechwriter during my final three years as DNI. We quickly mind-melded on speeches he wrote for me—a rare chemistry, something that happens once a career, if ever. Several of our speeches were published in Vital Speeches of the Day, and Trey was recognized with the international
ly prestigious Cicero Award for “Why Black Lives Matter to US Intelligence,” a speech I gave at two historically black colleges. After I stepped down as DNI, Trey and I had several deep conversations about whether to take on this project, and I realized that I would never be able to do it solo, so we forged our partnership. As we had with our speeches, we developed a battle rhythm on drafting the book, and suddenly the manuscript was done. If it wasn’t for Trey, I’d still be struggling with the first chapter.
I also need to thank four friends and colleagues who volunteered to wire-brush the manuscript—Stephanie O’Sullivan, my former deputy; Bob Litt, my former general counsel; Shawn Turner, my public affairs director; and Trey’s wife, Amy, whose “outsider” perspective was always spot-on. They provided invaluable critiques and suggestions. I want to thank Gail Ross for being my Sherpa through the world of publishing and for connecting me with Viking. As well, I want to thank Viking, which took a big gamble based on only a short proposal for the book, and specifically Rick Kot for his confidence in us, Jane Cavolina and Rick for their brilliant edits, Diego Núñez for marrying the text with pictures and graphics, and Bruce Giffords for shepherding this book through the production process on a daunting schedule.
The responsibility for any and all errors of commission or omission is entirely mine, and finally, the views expressed here are entirely mine and do not in any way reflect positions and policies of the US government generally, or the Intelligence Community specifically.
Glossary of Abbreviations
AFMIC: Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center
AFTAC: Air Force Technical Applications Center
AQAP: al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula
AWACS: Airborne Warning and Control System
BND: Federal Intelligence Service (German intelligence agency)
CBJB: Congressional Budget Justification Book
CERN: European Organization for Nuclear Research
CIA: Central Intelligence Agency
CR: continuing resolution
CYBERCOM: US Cyber Command
DARPA: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
DCI: director of central intelligence (led IC before DNI established; is also CIA director)
DHS: Department of Homeland Security
DIA: Defense Intelligence Agency
DMA: Defense Mapping Agency
DMZ: Demilitarized Zone (between North and South Korea)
DNC: Democratic National Committee
DNI: director of national intelligence
DOD: Department of Defense
DPRK: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea)
EKIA: enemy killed in action
FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation
FISA: Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
FSB: Federal Security Service (Russia)
GCHQ: Government Communications Headquarters (UK signals intelligence agency)
GDIP: General Defense Intelligence Program (“Gee-Dip”)
GEOINT: geospatial intelligence
GOP: Grand Old Party (alternate name for Republican Party)
GRU: Main Intelligence Directorate (Soviet, now Russian military intelligence agency)
HF: high frequency (radio)
HUMINT: human intelligence
IAEA: International Atomic Energy Agency
IARPA: Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity
IC: Intelligence Community
ICBM: intercontinental ballistic missile
IC ITE: IC Information Technology Enterprise—“eyesight”
IED: improvised explosive device
IG: inspector general
INF: Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
IRTPA: Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004
ISIL: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (a.k.a. ISIS)
ISIS: Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (a.k.a. ISIL)
JCS: Joint Chiefs of Staff
JWICS: Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System
KGB: Committee for State Security (primary Soviet security agency)
LGBTA: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and allies
LX: Liberty Crossing
MAC: Military Airlift Command
MIP: Military Intelligence Program
MSIC: Missile and Space Intelligence Center
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NCPC: National Counterproliferation Center
NCSC: National Counterintelligence and Security Center
NCTC: National Counterterrorism Center
NGA: National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
NIC: National Intelligence Council
NIE: National Intelligence Estimate
NIM: national intelligence manager
NIMA: National Imagery and Mapping Agency
NIP: National Intelligence Program
NPIC: National Photographic Interpretation Center
NRO: National Reconnaissance Office
NSA: National Security Agency
NSC: National Security Council (chaired by president)
OCO: overseas contingency operations (additional funding line for combat support)
ODNI: Office of the Director of National Intelligence
ONCIX: Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive
OPM: Office of Personnel Management
OSD: Office of the Secretary of Defense
OSI: Office of Special Investigations (Air Force)
PACOM: US Pacific Command
PC: Principals Committee (chaired by national security adviser)
PDB: President’s Daily Brief
PDDNI: principal deputy director of national intelligence
PLA: People’s Liberation Army (Chinese army)
PLC: Platoon Leaders Course
POW/MIA: prisoner of war/missing in action
RGB: Reconnaissance General Bureau (North Korean intelligence agency)
RNC: Republican National Committee
ROK: Republic of Korea (South Korea)
ROTC: Reserve Officer Training Corps
RPG: rocket-propelled grenade
RT: Russia Today
SAC: Strategic Air Command
SAM: surface-to-air missile
SASC: Senate Armed Services Committee
SCIF: sensitive compartmented information facility
SIGINT: signals intelligence
STRATCOM: US Strategic Command
TAC: Tactical Air Command
TAO: Tailored Access Operations
TARP: Troubled Asset Relief Program
TLAM: Tomahawk Land Attack Missile
TNT: tunnel neutralization team
UGA: University of Georgia
USD(I): undersecretary of defense for intelligence
WMD: weapons of mass destruction
WTF: WikiLeaks Task Force (CIA)
Index
The page numbers in this index refer to the printed version of this book. The link provided will take you to the beginning of that print page. You may need to scroll forward from that location to find the corresponding reference on your e-reader.
Abdullah, King, 359
Abdulmutallab, Umar Farouk, 127
Abedin, Huma, 330
Abottabad raid (bin Laden raid), 150–56
Abu Ghraib prison scandal, 101
Abu Khattala, Ahmed, 180
Access Hollywood tape, 352, 353, 354
Accountability Review Board, 177, 179
Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction, 86–87
Afghanistan, 241, 242
Afghanistan War, 95
AFMIC. See A
rmed Forces Medical Intelligence Center (AFMIC)
AFTAC. See Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC)
Air Force, US
Air Force Intelligence Command, 63
disbanding of SAC, TAC, and MAC, 65
intelligence component, 116
reorganization of, 65
resistance to Goldwater-Nichols reforms, 60–61
uniform redesign of, 65–66
Air Force EC-135, 56
Air Force Intelligence Command, 63
Air Force Security Service, 35
Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC)
Clapper as commander of, 41–42
Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty compliance monitored by, 42
Air Power plan, 59, 60, 61
al-Awlaki, Anwar, 123–24
al-Baghdadi, Abu Bakr, 264
Aldrin, Buzz, 31
Alexander, Keith, 119, 135, 262
Alexander, Minter, 59–60
Algeria, 158, 159
Allen, Thad, 108–9, 110
all-source analysis, 37
AlphaGo, 309–10
al-Qaida, 93, 158, 174–75, 211, 241, 286
American Islamic community, 265
Facts and Fears Page 52